Saving Axel
by RoyalDragoness
Summary: He was mouthy and aggressive no wonder why they were going to put him down. But he wasn't ready to die I could tell, so I decided I would save him. I hope that it's not a mistake.


Meeting him was by chance, buying him well that was by choice. I was only supposed to be feeding them when they were out of their cages. But today I was overseeing adoptions and cleaning cages, which meant I was able to interact with the Cats. But there was one whose time was almost up. After two years he'd only gotten more mouthier and aggressive.

They were going to euthanize him. I'll admit when I adopted him, I wasn't thinking. It was an impulse decision!

But when I saw that shock of red hair and those poison green eyes I was captivated.

Maybe it was that rare time when his guard was down but when they announced they would be putting him down in two days I thought I saw him shiver.

Those two days _flew _by and when they told him his time was up and put that leash on him, I knew I had to stop them.

"I'll adopt him!" I cried.

"What?" Kairi cried dropping the leash.

I figured Axel might make a break for it, but he stayed where he was rooted to the ground.

"I said I'll adopt him." I whispered.

His ears I saw were pinned down but his tail was swishing back and forth in interest. His gaze flicked to Kairi a buxom red head who was doing a wonderful impression of a fish.

"Let me grab Larxene and we'll get everything set up. Are you going to take him home now?" She asked.

Looking at my watch I saw my shift was almost up. Nodding I was handed the leash and quickly ushered to the front. While I knew there were perfectly good Cats who got euthanized, I didn't want to see it happen.

The ones that went back there I'd always heard they looked defeated, as if they were ready to die. But I didn't sense that with Axel.

It was sad to see them treated so horribly. They had never been asked to be born this way they just were, but they were treated as sex objects or even pets. They were human, it was just their ears were cats' ears and they had tails.

I signed a few papers and when I asked how much the adoption was, they shook their heads. Axel's ears were still down but he looked more than curious. Adopting a Cat was expensive no matter where you bought them.

I thanked everyone and mentally cursed myself. I barely had enough money to pay rent and feed myself. Now I was going to have to feed someone else. But I couldn't just let him die.

We climbed into my beat-up black truck and started off towards home. It was a small one bedroom and bathroom apartment. I had to pay extra to live in one with a washer and dryer. Most of my check went to rent and the rest for food and gas.

As soon as we got home, and I'd let Axel in he snorted and kicked his shoes off.

"What a dump." He said looking around.

The furniture was secondhand, my dishes were mismatched and my tv was extremely small.

"I'm sorry," I whispered kicking my shoes off as well.

For the first time I was embarrassed by my apartment. I was doing what I loved but it meant that I couldn't afford luxuries. I really enjoyed helping take care of the Cats, I just didn't like seeing them die.

Taking his leash off he dropped it on the floor and padded his way into the kitchen. After straightening up the shoes and putting the leash on a small hook I had on my wall I headed into the kitchen as well. My keys went on the small bar that was attached just outside the kitchen that served as my table.

"I smell fish. Where is it?" He growled.

Smiling I headed to the refrigerator. Opening it up I rummaged around until I found some leftover salmon. I only ever bought it on sale because it was so expensive.

"Would you like me to warm it up?" I asked.

"No, I'll eat it cold." He said taking the Tupperware from my hands.

As he stood in the kitchen and ate, I noticed for the first time how tall he was. His red hair was covered in either dirt or feces I couldn't tell. The cages they kept them in were so small and really unfit for them. As he stood there eating, I headed to the small bathroom and ran a tub full of water, he smelled awful.

"When you're done, I've got a bath running for you." I said gesturing towards the bathroom.

"What do you want?" He growled finishing the last bites of salmon. "What do you want me to give you as payment?"

"N-n-nothing!" I stammered.

Normally I was never like this, but everyone was right, Axel was feisty. All I knew about him was his family had moved and they'd taken him to the shelter. He ended up running away but was brought back a few months later.

I noticed his collar which looked to be made of leather was scuffed and had a small tear where it was attached.

He left a trail of clothes when he went. I threw them in the washing machine and tried find some clothes for him. Everything I had would be to small on him, but it was all I had. He was in the bath for about thirty minutes.

He scoffed when he saw the clothes but put them on anyway. I noticed then that he wasn't wearing his collar anymore. I saw it in the bathroom on the counter but didn't ask.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" He questioned once he was dried off and dressed.

"The bed of course. I'll take the couch." I offered.

His tail flicked back and forth, as his eyes narrowed as if searching for lies. When he seemed to find none, he nodded and made his way toward the bedroom.

I slept horribly that night. My back was killing me, and I longed for my bed. I woke up early and after checking on Axel I began to get ready for work.

"Where are you going?" He questioned eyes wide.

The spitfire I had met yesterday was gone. His hair was mussed, and his ears were flat against head. His tail which had been flicking earlier last night was now in his hands.

"I'm just going to work. I'll be back in a few hours. Would you like me to stay home?" I asked reaching a hand out.

He seemed to come to his senses as I approached him. Hissing he swiped at me as I reached out. He caught my arm leaving a shallow gash but deep enough to start pouring blood.

"I'm sorry," He whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Turning on his heel he raced back to the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

I called out that day, telling them Axel was having a hard time adjusting. Heading to the kitchen I cleaned the wound since my bathroom was attached to my bedroom. Luckily, I had a few bandages stored under the kitchen counter. After wrapping my arm up, I started on breakfast.

I made eggs, toast, and bacon for me while I searched around for some sort of fish. I found a can of tuna fish and prayed that it would work.

After opening the can I went to my bedroom and knocked on the door.

"I have some tuna fish." I called.

I heard the sheets rustling and a few minutes later the door slowly opened.

"Tuna?" He asked.

"Tuna." I agreed.

"Give it to me." He said.

This was the tricky part. "Come into the kitchen and you get the tuna."

He growled but slowly made his way out of the bedroom. He swiped for the tuna, but I dodged him easily. Once we made it to the kitchen, I sat the plate down and waited for him to retrieve it and run.

"I want a sandwich." He said pushing the plate back towards me.

His ears were perked up now and his tail was flicking lazily back and forth. His poison green eyes were trained on me as I got everything out to make his breakfast.

He gobbled it down quickly after I handed it back to him. He eyed me for a few minutes before hissing and heading back to the bedroom. I didn't see him again until dinner.

This continued in this fashion for about a week. When I came home from work Axel would always bound out of the bedroom to see me and then mutter, "Oh it's just you."

Only after two weeks did he start greeting me and staying in the living room with me. He still didn't talk to me after the initial greeting, but at least he sat on the couch with me.

By the third week we were out of food. I needed to go to the grocery store and Axel was determined to come with me.

"I won't do it!" He shouted.

"Axel please be quiet! I'm not supposed to have a Cat! Or any animal! I could get fined and I don't have the money to pay for it!" I hissed.

"If you don't have the money then why did you get me?" He asked eyes narrowed.

"I didn't want you to die." I whimpered.

"Pfft you don't care about me at all! You want me to wear this stupid collar around town! I'm not an animal! I can't help how I was born!" He cried.

"I know Axel trust me I do! But if you don't wear the collar, I'll get in trouble you know it's the law! So, if you're coming with me you have to wear it." I whispered.

Tears sprang to my eyes; I was upset because I had to force him to wear the stupid collar and because he just wouldn't do it. As soon as they started to spill, he seemed to deflate.

"Please don't cry." He said taking a step forward. "Please don't cry."

I was surprised to be enveloped in long bony arms. His chest was warm when I was pressed against it. I noticed for the first time how perfectly I fit in his embrace. I didn't stay there long before I pulled away and wiped my eyes.

"I'll wear the collar." He finally said.

He came back a few minutes later with the collar on. Before we left, I took a moment to take a look at him. He was back in his old clothes, wearing a pair of ripped jeans and black shirt.

If I was stingy with my grocery shopping, I was pretty sure I could buy him a few clothes.

"Do I walk behind you? Or can I walk beside you?" He asked once we made it outside.

"Beside me please." I said.

It felt awkward as we walked, there was no conversation. The grocery store was only a five-minute walk and since I wasn't going to get that many groceries I decided against the truck.

I grabbed anything that was on sale. I used Axel as a weapon! If I wanted something that was on sale his presence was enough to drive anyone away.

I raced down aisles dragging Axel along with me. A few times he almost fell as I raced to a sale rack with discounted canned vegetables. They were mostly dented but that didn't affect the taste.

Fish was expensive so I got as much as I could without going over my budget. After paying we headed back home and unloaded our groceries.

"Now to Moogle's Emporium." I said grabbing my car keys this time and heading to the truck.

Ears perked Axel cocked his head to the side. "What's that?"

"It's a large discount store. It's where we're going shopping for your clothes at." I explained.

He looked surprised. "Clothes? For me?"

"Yes of course. Did the shelter never give you anything?" I asked.

Snorting he headed towards the truck. "Yeah right if you don't get adopted your killed within two months. I'm surprised I lasted two years. You get the dead Cats hand me downs whether they fit or not."

That sounded so gruesome that I stopped dead in my tracks. The door closed behind Axel as I thought about what he said. I finally realized that I had saved him from a horrible fate. I still didn't feel as if I'd done enough. For as long as I'd been at the shelter I'd never been there for the killing. I refused to work on the weekends because of that. I came back Monday morning assuming the new clothes they were wearing where because someone had shopped for them. Not because they were from the deceased Cats. It broke my heart.

There were still plenty of Cats who died in the shelter and for once I was ashamed, I worked there. I knew the conditions were deplorable, but I tried my best to scrub the cages and make them at least look livable.

I'd been putting in applications for no kill shelters, but they were far and few between. Even still I knew nothing about Axel. Holding my keys, a little more tightly I headed to the truck determined to learn more about my Cat.

The ride to Moogle's Emporium was quiet to say the least. Axel's ears were constantly flicking back and forth. I couldn't tell if he liked the ride or not.

As soon as we parked, he was the first to jump out. He came to my side and hurried me out. We explored everything! He tried on tons of clothes and picked the ones he liked the most. I was able to buy two packs of underwear and some socks for him as well as another pair of shoes.

By the time I was done paying for everything I was broke. But I was satisfied.

Axel for once looked happy as if the purchases made him think that he was now truly mine.

"How did you get to the shelter?" I finally asked on our way home.

With a sigh he shook his head and looked at me for a long while before speaking.

"My family got me when I was just a baby. As soon as I could stop nursing, I was taken away. They stupidly thought I'd stay small and cute forever. When their son was born, they began to pay more attention to him. I acted out more because I was jealous. They stopped playing with me, and only their son started to notice me.

"We played every day and when he came home from school I waited outside for the bus. He taught me to read and write and when he was thirteen, they moved and brought me to the pound. I thought for the longest time they would come back and get me. After a year I gave up. They didn't love me, and they probably never had." He turned away after finishing his story.

Once we made it home, he took his clothes and headed back to my bedroom. I didn't see him again until dinner.

"Sleep with me tonight." He said. "I don't want to be alone anymore."

I nodded and we said no more on the subject. He was demanding as we lay down for bed.

"Hold me!" He growled curling up on the bed.

Doing as I was told he turned in my arms so that he was facing me.

I wasn't expecting him to kiss me. We were just quietly laying there when he leaned in to press his lips against mine. I was shocked. I didn't move or even breathe.

It was the wrong thing because he pulled away and then rolled over.

Tentatively I reached out to touch his fiery mane. When I found the base of his ears, he purred turning back over to face me again. This time I was the one who kissed him.

He responded beautifully. His hands went to my shirt grabbing and tugging. He mewled, trying to press his body as close to mine as possible. Reaching up I cupped his face. He leaned into the touch and whimpered. How long had he been without this much affection?

We kissed for a long time before finally Axel pulled away. Without another word he turned over and promptly fell asleep.

I would love to say I was able to fall asleep as well, but I stayed up until four am just holding him and thinking about our kiss. How did I feel about Axel? I liked him. But I didn't know much about him.

His family sounded horrible. He was sarcastic and he loved fish, and he'd been cooped up in the shelter for two years. That was about all I knew about him.

I went to work that morning tired. I forgot what I was doing half of the time until finally Larxene sent me home to rest.

"Hey Larxene, Axel he's pretty aggressive, and he's not really opening up. He just invited me to sleep in my own bed and it's almost been a month. Is there anything I can do to get him to open up?" I asked.

"Catnip. It'll calm him down. There's a Pet store on the way out of here why don't you stop by before you go home." She said.

I thanked her and headed off in the direction she gave me. As soon as I entered, I was lost. There were collars all of them plain looking, leashes most of them black, red or blue. Gags that were advertised as muzzles for the most aggressive Cats. I fingered some of the muzzles horrified that someone would even use that.

I found the toys, most of them were shaped like fish, or mice so I quickly grabbed one that advertised it had catnip in it and bought it.

When I presented it to Axel, he sniffed it and ripped it from my hands. The effects were immediate. His pupils were blown so only a little bit of green remained. Grabbing the toy fish in his mouth he placed his head in my lap and chewed it.

"Roxas," he moaned after a few minutes of chewing the toy.

It dropped to the floor and it took him a while to realize that. He rubbed his face on my legs and I noticed that he was drooling a little.

"Do you like it here?" I asked reaching my hand out.

He took a few moments to nuzzle my hand before responding. "Yes, I may say I don't, but I really do." He was slurring his words now.

"Why did you kiss me?" I asked.

He stopped nuzzling my hand and sluggishly looked around for his new toy. Once he located it, he sniffed it and bit it bringing it back to my lap.

"I want you to like me. I don't want to be sent away again. I'm scared." He admitted. His eyes were drooping now so I suggested we go back to bed.

"Can I bring my toy?" He asked.

"Of course, you can." I whispered.

Giggling he stumbled to the bedroom still holding the toy in his mouth. He collapsed onto the bed and motioned me over to hold him.

Axel was at least a foot and a half taller than I was. I curled around him with more room to spare. I listened as he purred clearly content with the toy.

"No one's ever given me a toy before. Or clothes that I could keep anyway." He said.

I felt terrible for not getting him clothes sooner but I had just paid rent, so it left my bank account drained.

"I lied earlier," He whispered his voice thick with sleep. "My family their son was starting to fall in love with me. They caught us kissing. The father he hurt me. He put a muzzle on me and locked me downstairs chained to a pipe. I think it was a pipe. I'm not sure though. They left me there to die while they moved out. The son he was the one to come back and let me go. He called the pound to come get me.

"He thought I'd be safe that way. He promised to come get me. He _promised_!" He was quiet for so long that I thought he had fallen asleep.

When I rubbed his back, he whimpered and turned over to face me. He held his toy tightly in fists and cried.

"I broke out to search for him. But I got lost and I couldn't find him. I lived on my own for about four months and then I was caught again. I had a collar but as far as they figured I had no owner. I had no leash, and no one was with me." He nuzzled the toy again softly biting it until he fell asleep.

I cried while he slept no longer tired. It sounded as if he loved the boy to. He wouldn't give me his name, so I wasn't sure if he didn't want me to know or if he was trying to forget.

His toy was making him drool more so I took it away and tried to find another toy he could hold onto. The catnip had done its trick. I found another Cat toy I had bought a while ago for one of the other Cats who was having a hard time transitioning but she was quickly adopted out.

It was a bright blue fish with a smiling skeleton design on it. It was plush and soft like a child's toy. I slipped it in his arms and wrapped myself around him as best I could and fell asleep.

We woke up later that night and I felt more refreshed than ever. Axel however looked like he'd been run over by a car. His hair was a mess and his eyes were puffy and rimmed in red. He was clutching the stuffed fish tightly in his arms.

Leaning in I kissed him first this time. He responded eagerly.

But I ruined it. I had to ruin it because that's all that I seemed to be good at.

"I can help you find your old owner if that's what you want. You told me you were looking for him." I whispered. He'd told me one night what he looked like but that was all. I didn't know his name or anything.

"I want to be left alone." He whispered back.

"Axel, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned that!" I tried backpedaling but he had already gotten up and gone to the bathroom.

Angry at myself I got up and headed outside. I tried clearing my head, but it wasn't working. I was still so angry. I wasn't trying to fuck this up, but it seemed that I had.

I had a little bit of money in my pocket, so I decided to go out in search of food. Maybe the smell of fish would cheer Axel up.

It took longer than I expected to get the food. But on a Thurday night what could you expect? It was warm outside so while I waited, I stood outside in the fresh air.

An hour later I was handed my food and I started towards home. I took my time going along the back roads so I'd have more time to think.

When Axel said he'd been hurt I wondered what he'd meant. Was he hurt physically before he was chained up? Or was the fact that he was chained up how he was hurt? Ugh, in reality I didn't want to face my own feelings.

I really liked Axel. He was beautiful with his fiery red mane and ears. His poison green eyes were intoxicating. His tail hypnotic. The two-purple upside down teardrops under his eyes were a mystery.

Before I knew it, I was home again. I debated on staying outside for a little while longer but decided against it.

I trudged up two flights of stairs and down a long hallway before stopping in front of my apartment door. I'd left the door unlocked figuring I'd have a mound of food in my hands.

I was right though. Opening the door, I sucked in a breath of air. The house looked like it had been ransacked. The couch was almost destroyed, dishes were broken and strewn across the floor. As I stepped closer, I saw Axel huddled under the table shaking.

"... again... not again. Don't wanna be left alone again." He whimpered.

Dropping the food, I rushed over and wrapped my arms around my Cat.

Crying out he unwrapped his arms and pounced on me. Tears spilled on my shirt as he tried his best to wrap himself around me.

"Hey, shhh it's ok. Everything's ok. What's going on?" I asked.

Shaking his head, he refused to look up at me instead he rested his chin on my shoulder and held me tight.

"Why did you leave?" He asked.

"You told me to." I said thoroughly confused.

"The bedroom not the house!" He cried.

"I just went to get dinner. I got fish from this really great place about thirty minutes from here." I said rubbing his back.

"You could have asked me to go to." He whined.

"You told me to leave!" I was exasperated now.

"Once again leave the bedroom not the house!" He nuzzled my neck now. The remnants of his tears dried on my neck.

After he was done rubbing the rest of his tears on me, he pulled away and licked his lips.

"What kind of fish did you buy?" He asked rubbing his eyes.

His tail was flicking back and forth as he peered around me to see the take out bag. His emotions were confusing.

"I got flounder, some tuna and a little bit of salmon." I answered.

Sniffing the air, he licked his lips again. "I smell fries, and hushpuppies? Oh, those are all my favorites!"

Chuckling I stood up confused still by the whole situation, but I was also hungry.

Axel ate almost all the salmon, he did eat all of the fries and tuna and managed to leave me with four hushpuppies.

"Flounder's gross." He said when I continued to offer him a bite.

"Oh, that's what you don't like?" I questioned.

"Just because I'm a Cat doesn't mean I don't have opinions on food. Of course, I love fish but I'll eat just about anything. Fish is just my favorite." He explained.

After we finished dinner, I cleaned the dishes and was quickly ushered to the couch. Exhaustion claimed him soon after we sat. His head went to my lap.

I hadn't noticed before, but he was tightly clutching the stuffed fish I'd given to him. Looking at the time on the tv it said it was just after ten.

I could hear his breathing even out, getting softer as sleep began to claim him.

"When you said your family hurt you what did you mean?" I asked running my fingers through his mane of hair.

"Beat me, broke my ribs, dragged me down the stairs. Almost killed me and then he chained me. I was not human to them. I wasn't even a Pet; I was lower than that." He whimpered once and then he was asleep.

He held the fish so tightly now. I tried turning to mindless tv but even then, I still didn't pay attention. My mind was only focused on Axel and his breathing.

It was about twelve when he started whimpering and crying out. I shook him murmuring soothing words trying to rouse him.

When he opened his eyes, he sat up bumping heads with me. Hissing he rolled off my lap and fell on the floor. He only stopped when he recognized it was just me.

"They were hurting me!" He whimpered standing up and looking for his stuffed fish.

"Your old family?" I asked.

Nodding he found the fish and bent to retrieve it. I noticed him tugging his collar on the way back up as if it were hard to breathe. Ever since I'd asked to him wear it for the shopping trip he hadn't taken it back off.

An idea formed but I knew it would take some time to complete it. It would be expensive, and it would take some time, I'd have to work on it at the shelter when Axel wasn't around.

He was very nosey for a Cat.

"You ready for bed?" I asked.

"Yeah," He whispered reaching a hand out.

Standing up I took it. Turning the tv off we headed to the bedroom. I helped Axel change out of his clothes and into pajamas.

In the light I took a good look. He had scars littering his body. Most of them were on his chest and back. He blushed when he caught me looking.

"I must look hideous." He said grabbing a shirt and pair of sweat pants.

He was lithe with a hint of muscle. There was a red happy trail leading from his belly button to the waist band of his briefs. He was beautiful.

I realized my mouth was hanging open, so I shut it and walked over to him. I was the first one again to kiss him.

He leaned down to meet me as I raised myself on my tip toes.

"This is ok, this isn't wrong or something to be ashamed of. I care about you Axel." I whispered after I pulled away.

"I like you to." He murmured, "A lot."

With a smile we crawled back into bed. I held him tightly and this time he snuggled into my chest.

He kissed me this time, slow and sweet. His tongue probed my lips asking for entrance. He dominated the kiss. His lithe body crawled on top of mine. The weight felt good, grounded me and made me realize this was in fact real.

We kissed until there was no oxygen left. Axel pulled away first breathing heavy.

"Don't leave me." He whispered. "I just want a family to belong to."

"I won't. I'm here now." I answered pressing a kiss to his lips.

He found his toy fish and cuddled it before it before falling asleep. Axel was good at that, falling asleep at the drop of a hat.

I slept soundly that night. Better than I had in a while. I woke up early in enough time to get ready for work. I kissed Axel awake to let him know where I was off to.

He grumbled and complained that he didn't care. "What time will you be back?" He asked.

"At four thirty." I murmured pressing a kiss to his temple.

"Promise?" He asked.

"I promise." I answered kissing his nose.

I went to work feeling better than I had in days.

"How did the catnip go?" Larxene asked as soon as I came in.

"It worked just like you said it would." I answered with a smile.

Opening the cupboard, I searched around for a clean mug. Finding one I poured myself a cup of coffee. French vanilla with two spoonsful of sugar. I was wearing a pair of jeans and a t shirt, but I'd packed a spare. I always packed spares when I cleaned out the cages.

"How is he doing?" She asked taking a sip of her coffee.

"Aggressive as always. But he's doing better." I said thinking back to this morning.

"I'm glad you were the one who got him." She whispered.

"I am to." I murmured. Draining the mug as much as I could, I poured the rest out. "I'll be cleaning the cages if you need me."

The shelter was small housing at least twenty Cats. Most of the cages were empty and usually stayed empty. No one paid a ton of money to own a Cat only to let them go.

There of course were the cases like Axel's who came from a broken family. They were either quickly adopted or if they were to aggressive, that they were euthanized.

Today Kairi was the one who had taken the Cats out. Usually they went out to the park so they could get some exercise. Right now, we were housing four Cats. One of them was about to be adopted out though once the papers were signed, and the money handed over.

Yet somehow this was all legal. Euthanizing these wonderful Cats was totally legal. But since Larxene liked watching the news so much she'd been telling me that they were wanting to make it illegal. The cages were clean for the ones who were going to be adopted out, so I didn't have to do too much there.

I scrubbed the cages spotless though. The walls were gleaming when I was done with them. I took the blankets out and washed them. After that I hung them outside in the sunlight to dry.

There was a pile of dirty clothes, so I threw them in the washer with the blankets as well.

I knew each Cat's favorite food, so I got to work on cooking next. Sandwiches is what was mostly served but if I could wring a nice plate of fish out of the company's budget I did. Besides the owner of the shelter was hardly here anyway. He had another shelter that he ran that he mostly stayed at.

Today I was quietly told to go to Captain Sparrow's a restaurant that served not only wonderful but expensive food for the Cat's lunches. I ordered everything they liked and then some for the staff on hand.

If the company was paying for it, I wanted to make sure everyone ate good. I left early and stopped at the mall on the way there.

I wanted to make Axel a collar. It wasn't going to be a great collar, but it had to be way better than what he was wearing now. Pulling out my phone I checked my savings account.

I had a good bit saved up and I didn't want to dip into it unless this was an emergency. To me this felt like an emergency.

I bought needles and thread, a pack of bells and even stopped at the Pet store to get an engraved name tag. I bought two collars in case I screwed one up.

After my shopping trip I went to Captain Sparrow's and picked up the take out.

Back at the shelter I unloaded everything and made sure everyone got their food before I set to work.

Larxene and Kairi helped me look up tutorials online. The other Cats even joined in giving me ideas on what to make. I added the bells and the engraved name tag on one before threading the needle.

We spent the rest of the work day just messing around with the collars. I hadn't decided on anything yet, but I did have a few ideas on what I could do.

Anything at this point had to be better than his old collar.

I got home five minutes before I said I would. I'd hid the collar in my locker. I didn't think Axel would ever want to go visit the shelter but if he did, I doubt he'd want to see inside it.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Axel lying on the floor drooling. He'd apparently found his catnip toy again. It wasn't like I'd really hidden it though.

I'd just sat it on the coffee table and forgotten it really.

"Roxas!" He slurred attempting to sit up and make his way towards me.

I made my way over to the couch and sat down. Axel trailed after me toy in his mouth. Resting his head in my lap he mouthed the toy before letting it drop.

He nuzzled my hand for a minute before sitting back up and crawling in my lap.

He was so much taller than I was. He had to lean down to even try and rest on my chest. He didn't stay there long.

His lips were quick to find mine. I wasn't upset by this, if I could come home every day to this, I would be a happy man. Minus the catnip part of course.

He stayed in my lap for a while before pulling away and demanding dinner. I fixed a quick tuna sandwich for us both too tired to make anything more complicated. When we were done, and the plates had been set aside Axel crawled back into my lap.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and nuzzled his spikes. He was quiet until bed time. Once I had the tv off and we were curled up in bed he wouldn't stop talking. I listened at first with rapt interest, before dozing off.

"Roxas!" He cried shaking me.

"Huh? Oh, sorry Axel I'm really tired. Long day at work." I whispered.

"Yeah, sorry. You should get to sleep then." He said pressing a kiss to my forehead.

All was quiet for about ten minutes. Just when I was on the cusp of sleep Axel's ears moved tickling my nose. His lips pressed against my throat. His voice hummed against my Adam's apple.

"Yes Axel?" I asked.

"Can I come to work with you? I don't like being alone." He murmured.

"Sure." I answered wide awake now.

If he got into my locker and found that unfinished collar I was _screwed_. There was no chance that he'd even accept the collar. It was probably going to come out crappy anyway. I wrapped my arms around him nuzzling my face in his fiery mane.

He stilled, finally drifting off to sleep. After what seemed like hours I finally drifted off as well.

Five o'clock came early. Axel didn't want to get up but after I threatened to leave him at home he popped up. His ears were lost in a nest of spikes and his tail was poofed out.

"If you leave me here, I'll destroy this house." He growled.

He didn't seem serious though. Thank goodness because I still hadn't replaced any of the things, he'd broken the last time he destroyed my house. It was however on my list of things to do once I got rich.

He crawled out of bed wearing just a pair of pajama pants. His body was a creamy white with a long scar on his back. I took a step forward as he dropped his pajama pants. I gently ran my hand over his back.

He tensed but after a few minutes he finally relaxed. He turned in my arms allowing me to hold him.

"You're so short compared to me." He chuckled resting his chin on my hair.

His tail swished back and forth now a sign I took as him being happy, or at least content. I don't think I'd seen Axel truly happy, at least not yet. We sat that way for a few minutes before I had to get up and get breakfast ready. After we'd eaten and finally gotten dressed Axel hopped in my truck and we took off.

As soon as we got there Axel turned deathly pale. I was afraid this would happen.

"I want to go back home." He murmured.

"Ok, just give me one sec I'll have to go tell Kairi I'm taking today off." I said reaching over and taking his hand.

He nodded and without another word turned to stare out of the window. I let go of his hand and headed inside. I couldn't afford to take today off but Axel needed me right now.

Kairi was one of the managers. The red head assured me I had a ton of vacation days and to take the rest of the week off. I thanked her and went to my locker to grab my little side project.

I hid it in my work bag, which was just an old beat up backpack, that Axel never bothered. Climbing back in the truck Axel reached over to grab my hand still not looking at me.

"I'm sorry, this place has to many memories. I thought I could handle it." He whispered.

"It's alright. I've got some vacation days, so I'll be home for the rest of the week." I said squeezing his hand.

Cranking the truck up I caught a small smile from Axel through the window's reflection.

At home Axel lounged on the floor where the sun was streaming through the window napping. I'd been working on his new collar for about three hours before he started stirring.

I'd decided on a flame design that Aqua one of the Cats had suggested. After many failed attempts I had to start on the second collar. The first one was a mess of red and yellow threads.

I worked when Axel was occupied with other things such as napping. He was a pretty heavy sleeper, so I didn't worry about waking him. By the third day I finally had the hang of it. I worked a little bit quicker, but I wasn't sure if I'd be done by the end of the week or not.

It took me an entire month before I was finally done with the collar. I had bought a black collar and threaded red and yellow flames on it. It wasn't exactly what I had pictured but I was satisfied with it. The Cats gushed over it, admiring my work.

Was it amateur work? Yes, I'd watched the same online tutorial for a month trying to get it done right. I wasn't sure if Axel would like it. My mind kept wandering back to the day I'd brought him home and he called my apartment a dump. I knew now that he was just scared but still I was afraid he wouldn't like it.

After my shift ended, I headed home with the collar stuffed in my backpack. Axel picked up on my mood immediately.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked.

His ears were up and alert and his tail which had been swishing moments ago stilled.

"In my backpack is something for you." I said throwing him the worn bag.

He caught it easily and quickly rifled going through the bag. He stilled when he found the collar. His ears flicked back as he pulled it out and held it up.

"This is for me?" He asked.

"Yeah, I made it for you. I mean I bought the collar, but I did the stitching myself." I explained.

He inspected it thoroughly before yanking his old collar off. It broke with little force. After unclasping the collar, he handed it over and waited. Grinning I put the new collar on him. Jumping up he raced to the bathroom where the nearest mirror was.

"I like it," He said coming back to show it off.

Things were a blur after that. At some point we ended up in the bedroom shirts and pants off kissing. Axel was sitting in my lap his arms wrapped around my neck. The way he was grinding against me was driving me crazy. After a few minutes he pushed me down so that we were lying on the bed.

"I want this," He murmured. "Do you?"

I didn't want to say no, I couldn't say no. Instead I nodded and soon after lost my underwear to an eager Axel.

"How do you want to do this?" He asked leaning down to nip my hipbone.

"I don't care, just do something." I hissed.

He chuckled kissing my hips and up to my stomach, then back down to my hips again. He kept missing one vital area purposely I assumed.

"Tell me, how do you want to do this?" He asked again.

"Ride me," I growled threading my fingers through his fiery mane.

His ears perked and he grinned a Cheshire grin. His tail swished as he crawled off the bed and pulled his underwear off. I licked my lips and stared at his body. He was sexy. His tail was hypnotizing me.

He was definitely hung and it made me rethink the whole situation. He crawled back on the bed pressing his body against mine.

"Where's the lube?" He purred leaning up to nip my ear.

I pointed to the bedside table. Sitting up he crawled over to the table and opened it up searching for the bottle of lube. As he leaned up it just so happened that his cock was bouncing in front of my face. Grabbing his hips in my hand I held him still and licked the tip of his head.

His breathing picked up and he groaned before dropping his upper half to the bed. I could still hear him rummaging around every few seconds, but it was halfhearted.

Slowly I eased him into my mouth. I kept his hips from bucking which he wanted to do. I did what I could from the angle that I was at and it seemed to work. He was moaning and whimpering begging me to do something.

With a pop I released him. He quickly grabbed the lube and sat back so that he was sitting on my lap. He was breathing heavy and for the first time amongst the scars that littered his body I noticed his belly button was pierced.

"When did you get this done?" I asked touching the blood red stone.

Popping the cap, he poured a generous amount on his hands before reaching back and began preparing himself. He moaned eyes slipping closed as he got himself ready. Leaning forward he lay his head against my chest and panted.

"Before... before... I came to the... pound." He moaned.

His ears were flicked back so I reached forward and felt the fuzzy appendages.

"I like it," I growled.

He groaned working his fingers a bit more before finally withdrawing them. Sitting up he grabbed the discarded tube and popped the cap again and poured another generous amount on his hand. Taking my cock, he rubbed the cool gel on.

Throwing the tube, he leaned forward to kiss me. He steadied my cock and slowly sank down on it.

We both moaned. Axel was panting by the time he made it all the way down. Putting his hands on my chest he slowly pushed himself up and sank back down.

At some point he'd squeezed his eyes shut but after angling his body his eyes popped open. I gripped his hips tightly as Axel kept raising himself and slamming himself back down.

He leaned down and kissed me continuing to move his hips for the best friction. His kisses were needy and desperate but then again so were mine. I let go of his hip with one hand found his weeping arousal.

He groaned pulling away from the kiss and dropping his head to the pillow beside me. I nipped his neck as I stroked him off.

"Roxas!" He cried burying his face into the pillow.

It only took a few strokes before he cried out his release. He continued to bounce on my cock, and I came a few seconds later.

"Wow," Axel murmured a few minutes later, face still stuffed in the pillow.

"Yeah wow." I said reaching over to stroke his ears.

He purred rolling off me effectively pulling himself free. Curling up to my side he pressed kisses to my neck.

"We're dating now." Axel said.

Chuckling I turned to face him and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"We've been dating since I started making your collar." I said.

"I like that," He was grinning, and his eyes were getting heavy.

I kissed him again before getting up and making my way to the bathroom. By the time I came back with a wet washcloth Axel was already asleep. Looking at the time it was only one in the afternoon. Of course, that was Axel's nap time.

I cleaned him off and covered him up. Climbing in the bed I curled up beside him and took a short nap myself.

By the time we got up it was dinner time. I hurried to make to something that Axel would approve of. He stood in the kitchen watching me pull out various pots and pans. His ears kept flicking back and forth as if he wanted to say something.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

"I want to work." He said. "I don't like staying at home doing nothing and I can't go to the shelter."

"Oh," I started. "Well my uh twin brother runs a small coffee shop; he's been looking for someone." I responded. "I could talk to him if you'd like."

"How come I've never heard of your twin brother before?" He asked coming over to rest his head on my shoulder.

I was busy chopping onions, so he kept bobbing with my movements.

"You've never asked. I was trying to get you used to me before I took you to see my brother. I wanted you comfortable here first." I answered putting the knife down and turning in Axel's arms.

"You're too good to me." He murmured nuzzling my neck.

Chuckling I pulled him in for a kiss. He swept me off my feet literally and then deposited me on the counter so that I was his height. I reached around until I found the knife making sure I wasn't going to accidently stab myself.

I loved kissing Axel. If I could just stay home and make money off that I would. He let me go after a few minutes only because his stomach growled.

I kissed him once more before hopping down. I finished chopping the onions and threw those in the skillet before turning it on high. I was making a fish stir fry. Normally I'd use chicken, but Axel was in the mood for shrimp. Axel helped me, and by helping he watched me cook telling me what he did and didn't want.

Twenty minutes later the stir fry was done, and I was scooping heaping portions onto Axel's plate. He ate with gusto and after clearing his plate, went for seconds.

"You're going to eat us out of house and home." I chuckled.

He stopped and his ears flattened as he pushed his plate away. I would have thought he wasn't hungry anymore, but his stomach was still growling.

"I was kidding," I said pushing the plate back.

"They told me I was getting to fat. I'm sorry I shouldn't eat so much." He murmured.

"No! Eat as much as you like. I was only joking." I cried. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that."

Ears flicking back, he reached for the plate he pushed away and finished eating. I wasn't surprised when he went back for thirds, and certainly not when he went for fourths. We still had plenty left over so after packing it away and putting it back in the refrigerator I turned to see Axel standing behind me.

"There's more?" He asked eyes wide.

"Yeah, I was going to take it to work but if you're still hungry." Pulling out the Tupperware I offered it to him.

It was still warm as he took it from me and made a beeline for the table. He ate quickly and was dropping the empty container in the sink just as I finished dishes.

We retired to the living room to watch tv. Axel immediately crawled on my lap after the tv was turned on. He had relaxed some, his shoulders weren't tensed, and he was purring as I rubbed his back.

As we crawled into bed later that night Axel started to fidget. After about an hour I'd had enough.

"Axel," I hissed as he flipped over on his back again. "What's going on?"

"When you go to work, I'm scared you'll leave me." He whispered. "I know you'll come home though. You always do but the fear is still there."

Wrapping my arms tightly around him I nuzzled his spikes.

"I had no idea Axel. I'm so sorry. I would never leave you." I murmured.

"I know you wouldn't." He answered sleepily. "You're so much more different than my last family. You're so much nicer to me. I love you Roxas."

Grinning I pulled my sleepy Cat into a quick kiss. I could feel his smile against my lips.

"I love you to." I said.

We fell asleep soon after. I woke us up early so that we could visit my twin. Sora was in his shop two pots of coffee in hand walking around with refills. He waved the coffee pots when he saw us and finished his rounds before coming over.

"Roxy! I was starting to get worried! You haven't called me in a while. Who's this?" He asked coming around to inspect Axel.

"This is my Cat Axel." I said gesturing to him.

"He's cute. Why are you guys over here anyway? Isn't your work on the opposite side of town?" He questioned.

"It is. But the last time you talked to me you said you needed some help. Axel is here to apply for the job." I said.

"He's hired. I'm so desperate for help! When can you start Axel? Tomorrow perhaps? I'll even pick you up myself if I need to!" Sora whined running his hands through cinnamon spikes.

Both looked to me with matching pleading expressions.

"Yeah it's up to you Axel. If you want to start tomorrow, you can." I said.

"Then I'd like to start tomorrow." He said.

"Alright. Can you be here by seven?" Sora asked.

"Yeah," Axel responded.

We stayed for about an hour. Sora showed Axel around while I sat and had a cup of coffee and a muffin. By the time he came back he was excited. He'd met a few of the people he was going to be working with. He told me they were Cats as well.

"Thank you Roxas." He said as we started off towards home.

"You know I just want you to be happy." I responded.

After we made it home, we headed inside so I could make lunch. Axel's arms wound around my waist as I started to pull things out for sandwiches. His lips pressed against the back of my neck. I stopped moving letting his lips wander.

Turning me around I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close. Lifting me up in his arms he carried me to the living room and sat on the couch with me in his lap. His large hands were warm as he ran them under my shirt and over my body.

He was quick to rid me of my shirt before attacking my neck again with kisses. When he bit it, I whimpered letting my head drop on his shoulder. Pulling away from my neck he lifted my chin up to press his lips against mine.

His hands rested on my hips as if he weren't sure what else to do with them. He had me shirtless sitting on his lap. I decided to help matters by rolling my hips. He groaned resting his forehead against mine.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

Cupping his face, I pressed my lips against his.

"Yes. If it's with you I'm always sure." I whispered.

His ears flicked back and forth before settling. He watched me curiously for a moment before kissing me again. I helped him remove his shirt next. I kissed his chest slowly, lips moving to his neck while rolling my hips.

He recovered after that hands pawing at my pants. Chuckling I stood up quickly ridding my pants. He managed to shimmy out of his while I was pulling mine off. Before resuming I headed to the bedroom for a bottle of lube. I returned to my Cat head thrown back and jerking himself off.

I watched until he noticed me. His hand stopped for a moment before resuming. I parked myself on the couch across from him to watch. Spreading his legs farther apart gave me a much better view.

When I'd had enough of watching I made my way over with the bottle of lube in hand. I squirted some lube in my hand and sat the bottle down on the small corner table. I rubbed the lube on his cock and held it steady as I climbed on the couch.

His eyes were wide I lined myself up and began lowering myself down. Groaning he grabbed my hips guiding me down at a slow pace. Our lips met in a gentle kiss. With a free hand he grabbed my aching cock and stroked me. He kept a nice rhythm going and I broke our kiss to lean my head against his shoulder and moan.

I never had a chance to give any warning. With the way Axel was stroking me I knew I was done for. Cum spurted out as my Cat continued rocking his hips and finally came inside me.

I looked up when his hands cupped my face to see him smiling. Then his stomach began to growl.

"When's lunch?" He asked.

"You just had lunch." I purred leaning up to kiss him. "I'm kidding what would you like?"

"Fish." He answered.

"Alright well I'm fresh out. How about we take a quick shower and we'll go out?" I offered.

"I know you're on a tight budget are you sure? We can eat something else." He said.

"It's fine I've got enough. The rents paid and the fridge has some food so we'll be ok." I chuckled.

I really didn't have the money to splurge but Axel had just gotten a job, so this was cause for celebration! The look he gave me told me he knew I was lying. Thankfully though he didn't say anything. After putting everything away for sandwiches we headed out.

We both ordered as cheap as we could go. Dinner was light and afterwards we relaxed in the bedroom. Axel had to get up early and at this rate he wasn't going to sleep.

"What if they don't like me? What if I get fired on my first day?" He moaned tossing and turning.

"Sora wouldn't fire someone on their first day! Are you kidding me! He won't fire anyone. I've had to fire his employees before! Don't worry about it the Cats there are really sweet they'll make sure you're trained." I said wrapping my arms around him. "Besides you're sleeping with the boss's brother. You'll be fine." I said it in a joking manner hoping to lighten his mood.

Kissing my cheek, he pulled the covers tighter around us. We lay there for a while in silence before Axel started to speak.

"Thank you Rox. You're amazing you know that? I love you." He whispered.

"So are you. I love you to." I said.

I woke Axel up early. He groaned stirring awake asking what time it was and why I was up. I reminded him it was his first day of work. He shot up covers piling around him.

"What time is it?" He cried rolling out of bed and racing towards the bathroom.

"It's only six. Breakfast should be ready when you get out of the shower." I called as the door closed behind him.

I went simple, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. Axel came out a few minutes later hair dripping wet with a towel around his waist. His ears were lowered, and he carried with him a brush.

"I might be a little nervous." He said.

"That's alright love." I said making sure to turn the stove off.

Axel toweled himself off as we headed to the bedroom. Sitting on the bed naked he turned his back to me so I could brush his hair. It was silky and soft, easy to work with. His tail swished and I swore I heard him start purring.

When I was done, he turned in my arms and curled up in my lap. I knew he was nervous, but I also knew he had nothing to worry about. After a few minutes he pulled away and kissed me, then demanded food.

Chuckling I got off the bed and headed back to make breakfast. By the time Axel reemerged I had breakfast laid out. Work had called as well, they were overstaffed and told me to take the day off. We ate in silence as Axel nervously tapped his foot.

It was only a ten-minute walk but instead of walking I drove. Once we got to the cafe I parked and walked with Axel inside. Sora opened the door for us and ushered us inside.

Axel kissed me quickly and I wished him a good day before I left. With a whole day to myself I was at a loss for what to do. I was used to working or spending time with Axel. I decided to try and sleep for a few more hours but I couldn't.

I watched tv for most of the day but by noon I was nodding off. I hadn't had much sleep and Axel wasn't getting off until two. Axel had always told me how wonderful naps were when the sun was shining.

I set an alarm on my phone and got comfortable on the floor. I pulled pillows around me and a warm blanket. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep.

I woke in enough time to go and get Axel. I noticed I was getting low on gas, so I decided to make the walk. It was a nice day out and warm to. The walk was nice. I was a few minutes late getting there, but from the window I saw Axel sitting at one of the tables picking at a muffin.

He looked distressed and kept obsessively checking the door. Once he saw me at the window he jumped up and raced to the door. He was in my arms in an instant.

"You're late." He whimpered.

"I'm sorry. The truck was low on gas, so I decided to walk here." I answered. "You didn't think I left you, did you?"

"No, of course not! I knew you were coming." He huffed taking my hand leading me back inside.

Sitting me down at one of the tables he left to go talk to Sora. He came back a few minutes later taking his golden apron off.

"I work tomorrow if that's alright." He said taking my hand in his.

He blushed but turned and drug me off. I took the muffin with me. It was a blueberry muffin, good to. Axel dragged me down the street until we had to stop at the cross walk. He deflated at the cross walk and turned to me.

"I was worried." He admitted.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to be so late. I was going to take the truck and be here early, but I didn't have that much gas. I also took a nap." I said.

"In the sun?" He asked eyebrows raised.

"Yes," I admitted sheepishly. "You're right it's really nice."

Axel grinned and once the light turned from an orange to white, we headed across the street.

Everything changed at the next crosswalk. Axel clammed up and turned beet red. He began fidgeting and before I could even ask a man turned around. A man that had been described to me so many times.

Axel's old owner. Blond hair and green eyes. He was tall and very handsome. He turned to us and smiled. For a split second I saw that he recognized Axel.

"Nice shirt." He said pointing to the shirt Axel was wearing.

Blushing Axel grinned, "Thanks."

The light turned and he was gone. Axel reached out as if to grab him but quickly dropped his arm. He whimpered and took my hand dragging me home. Once we got there and I'd unlocked the door Axel walked in and straight to the couch. He laid on the couch tail curling up over his leg. He grabbed the end and began playing with it.

"What's up?" I asked.

Lifting his head Axel waited until I sat down before lying in my lap. He lay there quietly for a while before sitting up and crawling in my lap. Wrapping his arms around my neck he buried his face in the crook of my neck.

"He didn't recognize me." He whimpered.

"Did you want him to?" I asked a little hurt.

"Yes, no I don't know. I didn't want to go back to him if that's what you're wondering. I just wanted him to recognize me is all. He said he would look for me Rox he promised me. I just run into him on the street and he doesn't even recognize me! He promised." He whispered burying his face back into my neck.

"Do you want to see him again? What's his name we can look him up online." I offered.

"No! No, I don't want you to do that. I'm sorry let's just forget about it." He said crawling out of my lap. "I'm going to go lay down."

He headed off to the bedroom closing the door behind him. I wanted to follow him, but I decided against it. Instead I turned the tv on low and lay down. I couldn't sleep I wasn't tired I was upset. Axel really seemed to want to see his old owner. I could find him, but he'd never told me his name.

Dinner was easy just some spaghetti. I was the only one who was eating anyway. I had planned on sleeping on the couch but by the time I was ready to go to bed Axel was sleepily opening the door.

"You're coming right?" He asked.

Rubbing his eyes, he stepped out of the room holding his tail in his hands. He was only wearing a pair of black boxers. His ears were lost in his hair.

"Yeah, that is if you want me." I said.

Scoffing he rolled his eyes and turned back to the bedroom. After turning everything off I silently headed to the bedroom. Axel was curled up under the covers tail the only thing that was peeking out. He latched onto me when I was close enough and pulled me into bed.

Throwing the covers over me shimmied his way over to lay on my chest. Sighing he drew little patterns on my chest. He rest his stuffed fish in my arms.

"I did want to see him. I wasn't going to leave you even if he asked. I just wanted to know why he didn't look for me." He whimpered.

I kissed the top of his head and held him tightly. He buried his face in my chest and after a long while we fell asleep.

A week passed and it seemed with every passing day Axel grew more and more depressed. He barely slept and picked at his food. It was a Saturday and Axel and I were both off. He'd barely eaten breakfast and was sluggishly following me around as I did a few chores.

When I made it to the couch Axel flopped in my lap arms wrapped around my neck. Every time I asked what was wrong, he brushed me off refusing to tell me. So, I decided I'd just have to wait him out.

"He came to the coffee shop," He murmured. "He just wanted to take me to lunch so I said yes. I told Sora where I was going. I made him promise not to tell you. He lied. He said he looked for me. He said that he visited every shelter but that was a lie! I told him it was to, and he got really angry at me. I'd forgotten that about him, he has a temper. He grabbed me really hard and he bruised me." Leaning back, he showed me his bruised wrist. No wonder he'd been hiding his arms from me.

"He said we couldn't see each other because he had someone, and she wouldn't like it. I'm so sorry, it happened a week ago I should have told you." He sobbed.

"He put his hands on you? That bastard!" I cried gingerly taking Axel's wrist. It looked horrible tinged green and yellow but at least it was healing.

Wrapping his arms back around my neck he curled close burying his face in my neck.

"You know I would have let you see him if you wanted. I would never stop you from that, but he hurt you and that's something I can't forgive him for." I growled.

"I know," He sounded so defeated.

I hated this. After examining his wrist again, I pulled him in a for a kiss. He relaxed after that, once he realized I wasn't angry at him. I didn't like that he'd waited for a week before telling me but there was nothing, I could do about that.

"I'm sorry," He whispered.

His ears flattened and he refused to meet my gaze. Eventually around noon he managed to crawl off my lap and onto the floor. The curtains were open, and the sun was shining.

"Join me?" He asked.

"Of course," I answered going to the bedroom and getting a pillow.

I didn't feel tired but after Axel curled up on the floor and motioned for me to lay in his arms, I started drifting.

Monday was slow, a few Cats had been adopted over the weekend so there was even less work for me to do. I didn't mind though if the Cats were in good homes.

It was around lunch I was in the back cleaning when the door opened and Kairi walked in.

"There's someone here to see you Says his name is Luxord." She said. She looked angry but before I could ask, I saw who it was.

"What do you want?" I asked Axel's old owner.

"To talk," He said cheerfully. "About Axel."

"You mean about what you did to him?" I questioned. "His wrist is bruised!"

"I'm sorry about that. I don't enjoy being accused by a Cat," The way he said Cat made it seem like they were filthy beasts. "I just wanted to see him again and I knew my wife wouldn't approve. He's grown since I last saw him. I wanted to talk you about seeing him some more." He said.

"No." I growled. "You're not going to do this to him! You gave up that right when you abandoned him"

"That wasn't my choice," He muttered.

"Maybe not the first time but you could have looked for him, he was almost killed waiting for you! He stopped living; he gave up because he realized you weren't looking for him." I hissed. "I won't allow you to play with his feelings! He's fragile enough as it is!"

He had nothing to say to that. Instead he walked off. I wanted to run after him and beat him senseless. I was vibrating with anger so with the extra energy I cleaned. No one stood in my way as I cleaned everything, I could get my hands on.

By the time I left everything was spotless. I went and got Axel from work next. He seemed in better spirits.

"Your brother is teaching me how to bake. He needs someone to make pastries and he wants me to learn. He wants me to get some practice at home to." He responded.

"Yeah, yeah that's fine you can practice at home." I murmured.

"Ok just give me a minute! Sora's got some old pans I can take home to use. I told him we didn't have any." He turned to walk off but stopped and turned to me, "Is everything alright?" He asked cupping my face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I responded leaning in to kiss him.

Blushing, he turned and headed to the back. I could hear Sora laughing and a few pans dropping. Axel remerged a few minutes later with Sora right behind him. They held pans and a few boxes of what looked like cake mix.

After everything was in the truck Axel climbed in and shut the door. Sora took my hand and pulled me to him.

"You know you can tell me anything." He said fiddling with his cinnamon spikes.

"His owner came back to the shelter today. He's awful, I have no idea what Axel even saw in him. But that's not the point. He wants to keep seeing him." I explained.

"What did you say?" Sora asked.

"No, I told him no. I can't do that to him. I haven't told him yet, I'm afraid he'll want to see him. I know he says he doesn't. Maybe I shouldn't tell him." I said.

"I was against Axel going to lunch with him and I told him as much. But once he came back, he could barely work. He was shaking and trying not to cry. So, I set up him in the back with me to make a cake. He calmed down after that and talked to me. He was scared Rox, he kept saying how upset you'd be with him. He talked to me about it today, said that he told you finally. He loves you more than you could imagine. Trust me he won't go after his old owner." Sora explained. "I just wish I had a Cat as loving as yours."

"Thanks, Sor." I whispered.

Axel talked all the way home. He told me how he was a master at muffin making but he was struggling with learning to make cakes. By the time we got home and had unloaded the truck Axel was still talking.

He stopped once we were inside and pulled me in his arms.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked tail flicking.

"No, no! Of course not. Luxord came to visit me at work today." His tail stopped moving and he tensed up. "He wants to keep seeing you."

"I don't want to see him. He abandoned me! He didn't even come looking for me." He cried squeezing me tight.

"I told him no. You don't have to see him if you don't want to. I was just scared you might." I whispered.

"He hurt me, and not just emotionally either. If I were to go see him who's to say he wouldn't hurt me again. Besides I've got you and now I've got cake mix and cake pans so come help me make a cake." He laughed pulling me into the kitchen.

He didn't need much help. I measured his ingredients for him while he mixed them. He hummed a small tune until it was time to put the cake in the oven.

"Frosting, he really wants me to work on that. He says I can't use store bought either, I have to make it myself." He murmured as if I wasn't even there at this point.

I quietly made my way to the island and sat on a barstool to watch him. From his pocket he pulled out a piece of paper and laid it on the counter.

"He said this was easy to make," He was muttering to himself as he sought out ingredients.

He finished the frosting in about ten minutes. Satisfied he found me and sat and waited. His tail swished excitedly as we both watched the oven.

"I'm glad I have you." He whispered nudging me.

"I'm glad I have you to." I said.

Thirty minutes later and the cake was done. After turning the oven off, we went to watch tv so the cakes could cool. Axel was to busy watching the cakes cool instead of the tv. I couldn't hold his attention past fifteen minutes.

They were as cool as they were going to get because Axel was already frosting the cakes. Once he was done, he had a two-layer red velvet cake. It was gorgeous and delicious. After I'd eaten two slices Axel beamed with pride. He packed the rest away after having a slice himself so he could take them to work.

He went to bed that night happier than he'd been in a long time.

**Two Years Later**

As much as Sora encouraged Axel to branch out and maybe open his own bakery, he refused sticking by my brother's side. He'd moved to the back of the kitchen to work on deserts. It really helped Sora's popularity. He'd given Axel so many raises he was almost making more than I was. But I was proud of him.

After all the Cats had been adopted out the Animal shelter closed. Euthanizing Cats was now illegal to do. It'd been in the works for some time, but I breathed easier knowing that I'd never have to step foot in there again. The owner was unhappy so in his anger he let us go and shut down.

Around this time Kairi's grandfather passed leaving her a modest sized house. She rarely talked about her grandfather and they didn't seem very close, but she said he wanted to keep the house in the family. She said he knew that if he left it to her parents, they would sell it but he said she would do great things with the house. And great things she did. With the money she'd been saving up she converted the house into a Cat sanctuary. All Cats were welcome, and homes were visited and inspected before the Cats could be adopted out. She hired me along with Larxene to help her run it. It was a success. I was paid about as much as the other shelter, but I enjoyed the work this time. Cats didn't have to die. Sometimes on his day off Axel came to visit even becoming friends with some of the shyer Cats.

It made me happy that I'd taken a chance that day on Axel. He was mine and I was his. We loved each other fiercely. I was so glad for saving Axel.

**A/N: Please go check out Be My Ears next, that one is about Sora and Riku. Let me know what you think. **


End file.
